Former Barcelona hero Gerard Pique recently admitted that he didn’t congratulate ex-teammate Lionel Messi after he won the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Messi won the coveted trophy in December in the final against France. It was the only trophy the Argentine missed in his career.
As reported by Mundo Deportivo, in a conversation with Tiktok celebrity John Nellis, Pique revealed that he had disconnected from the soccer world. The soccer star had just retired from professional soccer right before the World Cup. As a result, he didn’t watch any game of the World Cup.
When asked about whether he congratulated Messi on his historic win, “No, honestly no. After my retirement, I wanted to completely disconnect. I went on vacation because the last few months as a footballer had been very hard. I didn’t watch any of the World Cup matches, just the final and not the whole game.”
Gerard Pique was asked if he had congratulated Lionel Messi on winning the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/pzbBePteth
— Frank Khalid OBE (@FrankKhalidUK) February 16, 2023
Though he didn’t send a message to Messi, Pique did praise his former teammate as the greatest forward in the last decades, “As a striker and for some reasons I would say, Messi. He is the best in the world at the moment, and I think he is the best in history and also he managed to win the World Cup with Argentina. It was his dream.”
Messi and Pique grew up together from a young age at La Masia. They were part of a Golden Generation there. Later on, both became soccer superstars for the first team. They won every trophy possible there including two historic trebles. Pique also won the World Cup in the 2010 edition.
Pique and Messi now reportedly have a broken relationship off the pitch. He is said to be a big reason for why Messi had to leave Barcelona for PSG in the summer of 2021. When Financial Fair Play rules were restricting the renewal of Messi, Pique is said to have said to let Messi go in order to comply with FFP. When Messi had heard about this, on his final day in the locker room to pick up his things, he reportedly wrote the word Judas in capital letters on a blackboard.
After retirement Gerard has become fully devoted to his organization King’s League, a seven-a-side league. He created it in 2022 with other known soccer celebrities and YouTubers like Iker Casillas and Sergio Aguero. He is also currently embroiled in controversy after the high-profile breakup with his ex-wife Shakira after he was caught cheating on her.
Awesome idea until a transgender takes your position. Play it out fully and women’s soccer becomes trans soccer. Emotion over intellect.